Ceiba's stem goes up

The stem of Ceiba, the wooden carbon-negative cargo sailing ship being built in Costa Rica was manually hoisted high up into the air and installed recently.

The stem construction in place

The wood used for constructing the stem – which is the forward-most curve of the hull, is the well-known shipbuilding timber Guapinol (also known as Jatobá, Latin: Hymenaea courbaril). This tropical hardwood is extremely dense, making it very heavy and robust and thus perfect for this important section of the ship. The Guapinol wood which used was brought down in a landslide during the rainy season last year not far from Sailcargo’s yard at Astillero Verde.

The stem came together like a large puzzle of uniquely-coloured hardwood that slotted and slid into position to make the statuesque bow of the 45m ship-to-be. The total length of the stem is 6.9m (22.6ft) and weighs approximately 2 tons (2,200 pounds). Founder and technical director Lynx Guimond summarized the plan for raising the stem perfectly in a recent interview: ”It’s too heavy for the tractor to lift, so we’re going to do it by hand, ” he said. Twenty-one people took part in the hoist process and all of them contributed in making this complicated, challenge look easy.

Framing is still the central task at this stage of the project. As of September 11th, 2019, our team has raised about 38% of the large (wider) frames of Ceiba - a total of 15 frames raised. Making such great progress with the framing is significant as this is one of the most difficult and technical stages of the entire hull construction. There are additional smaller frames at the bow and stern, known as cant frames. The completion of the stem allows us to start working on the cant frames now, which are smaller and thus faster to assemble.

Frame hoisting; 15 frames were in place by 11 September

The framing shipsaw

Sail Cargo’s founders add: “In September our team grew by more than 20%, and we are excited to welcome some very experienced shipwrights here at the yard, which will result in more productivity than ever before. In order to maximize this potential, our team has worked to prepare for this influx of talented personnel, arranging the delivery of new tools, materials and general shipyard infrastructure.

“It is only together that we can #seashippingchange . The entire project is funded by people purchasing stock in the company. Progress from start to finish can not be achieved without the help of people, like you, investing in shares in the company, starting at only $1000 USD and increasing in increments of $100 USD. 32% of these have already been secured, so if you are interested, get in contact soon! To find out more or to become a fellow owner of Ceiba, email SAILCARGO INC. today via info@sailcargo.org.”

Project founders, Danielle Doggett and Lynx Guimond, explain the stem raising process. To see more on building the stem, click: HERE